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Chapter 1
Nicola Hendricks stared at the fluffy animal like it had a disease—which it probably did, considering the pus coming out of its feet. But the beady eyes and small, fisted hands were cute, and she couldn’t resist as she sighed, picked it up gingerly, and tried not to cuddle it.
“What are you, and why do you look like that?”
The lack of reply had her sighing again, then making up her mind as she marched toward the castle in determination. Just past dawn, there was barely any vampire in the halls, but the few that were awake ogled as she greeted them with her arm steadfastly stretched out. The creature’s eyes never left hers, curiosity alight.
“This is probably a bad idea, but the king would take it as a personal offense if I didn’t take into consideration every creature—including strange ones like you?” There was a blink, then more innocent peering. “You got washed ashore, didn’t you? Or probably one of those reckless men’s caged pets.”
She sneered, glancing at a window and toward the fuzzy shoreline miles ahead, where she knew a pirate ship or two were docked for trading purposes. She bit her lip from making snide remarks and continued her path until she arrived at the castle’s center point, where the reigning family resided. Once decorated in fanciful gold and extravagant jewels, it was all simple lines and clean blue now, sending a quiet relief as she faced the man sitting on the throne.
Matthew Chatterley of House Chatterley had always been a handsome man and the perfect counterpart for his gorgeous wife, but it was much more emphasized with the crown sitting on his head. Friendly eyes latched on to the creature she held, a studied concentration despite the piles of books on his right.
“Is that a present for me?”
“It’s either a stowaway or a near-drowning victim. We found it crawling its way toward the forest and about to be massacred by House Sanchez.”
“They never did claim to be pet lovers.”
“Whoever would call this a pet is already highly doubtful in my book.”
“Speaking of books….” Matthew gestured to the pile. “How in heavens did your house have so many policies without our peers being aware?”
“Our peers are a bunch of shallow egomaniacs who are busy with their agendas more than our kingdom’s policies. Also, you forgot the part where my house and your previous king was a senile old man driven by his power-hungry wife and murderous son.”
And all of them were gone, leaving only her and her saner brother to pick up the pieces before Nathaniel decided to give up the crown and House Hendricks officially stepped down from the role. House Chatterley was a great replacement, and it was only natural for Nicola to accept her appointment as an advisor and guide the new house and the new king into making their island the best place to live in—or as best as it could be, given it was the home of bloodthirsty vampires.
“Nic…”
“I don’t need pity,” she said before the man could start with his infamous encouraging speech. “Mother and Nicholas got what they deserved, and Nate is better off finding love elsewhere.” The recollection of her brother falling in love with a human had her smiling slightly before she cleared her throat. “Anyway, your highness, as abusive as my family was, I still do remember all the scholarly teachings like the back of my hand. May I know which one you have questions about?”
She sat across from him, mindful of the guards coming in and out as several houses requested an audience. Some he granted and others he dismissed, hearing out the reasons first. He also listened to her attentively while keeping his gaze on the creature, who was leaving pus here and there while exploring the hall. Finally, the creature latched on to Matthew and slowly inches its way toward him.
“Do we have any records of this creature anywhere? Perhaps from one of your old travels?”
“No. It’s not listed.” She watched as the creature jumped on his lap. He quietly cleaned the pus and scratched the creature’s throat, unperturbed at the stain marks growing on his trousers.
“We could ask our traders.”
Pirates,her mind corrected. “I don’t think they would be very truthful with their answers.”
“Hmm.”
Matthew was already distracted as the creature jumped off his lap and he tried to get it back. Nicola wandered to the huge glass window, where she had a better view of the shoreline and the port in a corner. Two ships were docked now as figures bustled about loading and unloading boxes. Despite her wariness of the men, she couldn’t help imagining her normal routine before she had become the king’s advisor: waking up early, dressing up in her simplest robes, and joining the scholars as they prepared their ships to embark in yet another journey to write about for the kingdom’s library books. The excitement had always been insane, pumping her up like every trip was her first.
Longing seeped in her bones, trembling in its wake. She hauled it in and reminded herself she had a different role now, one that was just as fulfilling.
“I can keep it in the dungeon for observation.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s harmless. Leave it here.” Matthew had given up on communicating with the creature as he picked up another book. “Is there any particular book I should prioritize?”
She shook her head. “Read at leisure. You are doing good with all the policy amendments and improvements. But do avoid giving favors to House Jones in the meantime. They are using it to gloat against House Bruno, and the two houses’ silent war might boil over soon.”
“Good. The sooner, the better. I’m tired of the catty parties between the two.”
He stood up. The creature paused, its head swiveling before its body followed. What happened next was so swift that it didn’t register at first, but her body was faster as instinct snapped her into motion.
Talons and the sharpest teeth leaped with the precision of someone meant to kill, waylaid when she blocked its path and kicked as hard as she could. Double the size it was before, the creature only got knocked back a few steps before it blinked, growled, and swiped at her. She bounced back and hissed, sharp nails ready to dig into flesh—
